In December 2020, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the feasibility of allowing commercial operations — both satellite and terrestrial — in the 12.2–12.7 GHz spectrum band. Doing so could expand broadband access and expedite mobile 5G network buildouts; however, incumbents worry that additional commercial activity in the band could potentially interfere with their satellite operations. How can the FCC ensure new use of the 12-GHz band while navigating incumbents’ concerns?

On this episode, Shane is joined by two spectrum policy experts: V. Noah Campbell, co-founder and CEO of Radio Spectrum Access LLC, and Richard Bennett, founder of High Tech Forum and a co-creator of Wi-Fi. Noah discusses how both industry and the FCC can safely increase commercial activity in the 12-GHz band, while Richard gives an engineer’s perspective on what freeing up spectrum entails — in the 12-GHz band and beyond.